No. 445.] 



ERUPTION OF MOUNT PELEE. 



71 



Mt. Pelee when closely examined shows no fissures, landslips, 

 nor displacement of waters, and hence the action of the eruption 

 of the fifth of August was very local. 



The ci^y of St. Pierre situated more than ten kilometers away, 

 and the town of Precheur distant seven kilometers, appear to be 

 out of danger from eruptions even considerably greater than the 

 one which has taken place. Nothing in the land whcii' they 

 are situated indicates great catastrophes. i:\cn to ie;uh the 

 Ruffin House or the Eynard House, which aic iicarest to the 

 vents, a disturbance would be necessary very (httcicnt tiom the 

 present one. The matter thrown out even in the ininiahate 

 vicinity of the vents did not reach a depth of more than a meter. 

 This material finds a natural path of flow in conscciuence of the 

 steep slope and the gorge of the Riviere Blanc he wliose waters 

 naturally carry it off to the sea. Further the planters who Hed 

 at first have since returned to their dwellings, and their work, 

 and have no further fear of the noises heard from time to time 

 nor of the odor of sulphuretted hydrogen that is continually 

 perceptible. 



This odor impregnates the atmosphere all about Mt. Pelee 

 and extends even beyond. It augments or diminishes in certain 

 places according to the direction of the wind ; it is sometimes 

 comparable to the odor of burnt gunpowder, at other times to 

 that of stirred up swamp mud ; up to this time this odor appears 

 to be merely disagreeable and has had no unsanitary effect either 

 upon men or animals. However, for some time I have been 

 struck with the large number of persons of the Precheur district, 

 especially on the habitation Beligny and in my own plantation, 

 who have consulted me about skin troubles and insomnia which 

 they attribute to the sulphurous emanations. I have seen cows 

 drinking the muddy water of the Riviere Blanche and the i)ro- 

 prietor assures me that they suffered no ill effects. I have not 

 observed any flight of the birds away from the district though 

 one would suppose their respiratory systems must be very sen- 

 sitive. Silver pieces in all the estates of the Precheur quarter 

 turn brown, and so do all paintings which contain compounds of 

 copper or lead. It is worthy of note that at (,uadel(.upe the 

 exhalations of sulphuretted hydrogen are not perceived in the 



